Note: This is the paperback edition of a previously announced book.

Across the social and behavioural sciences there has been an increased interest in identity as a subject of inquiry. Despite this, there remain questions to which researchers need to find answers and challenges to be made to older paradigms of analysis in order to continue to push the frontiers of knowledge in this research domain. Identity is a problematic concept inasmuch as we recognise it now as non-fixed, non-rigid and always being co-constructed by individuals of themselves, or by people who share certain core values or perceive another group as having such values.

This volume re-examines the analytical tools employed in the sociolinguistic research of 'identity' in order to assess their efficiency, establish the roles of language in the identity claims of specific communities of people, and determine the place of identity in a variety of social contexts, including work places and language classrooms. It will be of interest to academics and students working in sociolinguistics, applied linguistics and second language learning.

‘This book should be of great interest to students and researchers involved in language and identity. It is intended for both scholars of sociolinguistics and non-experts interested in these issues...The sequencing of chapters and their internal cohesion is clear and well-structured and allows the reader to pick specific chapters of interest...well-written, well-structured and extremely accessible. It is a valuable resource in the field of language and identity.’ -Natalie Braber, review published on Linguist List: http://linguistlist.org/pubs/reviews/get-review.cfm?SubID=117143